Feeding apparatus



Feb. 17, 1953 H. E. DICKERMAN FEEDING APARATus 2 SI-IEETS-SHEET 1 Filed May 12, 1950 I INVENTORV if fiZk/ZZZFM/W Feb. 17, 1953 H. E. DICKERMAN 25 3 FEEDING APPARATUS Filed May 12, 1950 ZSHEETS-SHEET z raft-$11. I-I-I.

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Patented Feb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATE$ PATENT OFFICE 2.628335 FEEDING APPARATUS Hubert- EQDickerman, Springfield; Mass. Application May 12.11950, serial Nb';1'1','s86 3 Claims." (01. zit-2. 4)

invention relates to improvements in feeding mechanism for feeding successive portions of stock to mechanism. for forming, punching and other operations and is directed in a general way to feeding mechanism of the general type shown and described in U. S. Letters Patent #2',348,456issued to me on May 9, 1944..

The principal objects of the invention are directed to the provision of feeding mechanism wherein. cooperating. feed rolls are open ended whereby stock may be located therebetween axially thereof in combination with means to facilitate the manual release of'thestock by the feed rolls. v

As one special feature of. the invention means is provided" to obviate overtravel of. the feed rolls, and stock of various widths may be. fed by the. mechanism.

As with themechanismv of the patent referred to, the mechanism hereof may be associated with the relatively movable members. of a punch pressor similar machine or with a die set, the apparatus being operable by a movable part to feed successive portions of a strip or. the like to be acted upon by cooperating tools.

All of the above objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts thereof, as. willfully appear by a perusal of the description below and by various specific features whichwill' be hereinafter set forth.

To the above cited and other ends and with the'foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invenlever of the mechanism shownan- Figs. 1 and 2; and V Fig. i is a partial longitudinal sectional view through the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now tothe drawings more in detail, the invention will be fully described.

A base or support is shown at 2 which at its forward end 4 is adapted for securement tothe bed of a press, die set or the like.

An: upper elongated housing 6' is disposed over end'wall H.

A slide I2 is recipro'cable back and forth relative to the base and housing and is urged forwardly in feeding direction by means of a. spring is disposed between the rear side of said slide [2 and rear wall ll of the housing 6. The slide is movedrearwardly as is common with apparatus of this type.

A spring guide [8 is provided adjacentthe slide i2 and a rod 26 has its inner end; connected to said slide. see Fig. 4.. The outer end of said rod 20 extends through. wall II and is threaded.

A nut 22., on thethreaded end of the rodQabuts said wall and limits forward feeding. movements of said. slide and may be adjusted toflimit feediing movements.

A roll 2 is journall'ed. in. the forw rdtendt of site ends in the housing and has an upper feed. roll 32. fixed thereto adjacent its forward end, a brake drum 34 is fixed. thereto at. its rear end and clutch gears 36 and. 38. are disposed: thereon intermediate its ends.

The slide [.2 is provided with an elongated opening l2 and has upper and lower racks 40 and 42, as shown in Fig. 4, along edges of the. opening.

The upper rack 40 is in mesh with gear 36 and V the lower rack 42 isin mesh with gear 38.

The shaft 30 and gears 36 and 38 are provided: with means whereby as the slide [2 ismoved back. and. forth the said. gears are alternately clutched.

to the shaft so that. the said shaft is rotated clockwise in feeding. direction,. shownv by the arrows in Fig. 4'.

That is, the parts are arranged whereby as the slide moves rearwardly from. the position of Fig.

4, the gear 36 is rotated clockwise so as to clutch shaft 30 and rotate it and roll. 32. clockwise while gear 318 is rotated freely" on' said shaft. As the slide moves forwardly gear 38- is clutched to the shaft to rotate it and the roll 32 clockwise while gear 36 is rotated freely on the shaft.

and has upper andside wa1ls'8 and IW'and'an" The clutch means may include recesses in 44 in the shaft having rollers or balls 58 therein with springs 48 urging the rollers or balls into engagement with the gears and recesses, as shown in U. S. Patent #2,343.456 of May 9, 1944.

A pressure lever 56 having spaced side arms 52, as shown in Fig. 3, is provided having a shaft 54. A lower feed roll 56 and lower driven gear 58 are fixed on said shaft so that said gear and roll are rotatable as a unit.

The pressure lever 58 is disposed below the base and is pivoted at 66 thereto so that the gear 58 is in mesh with a drive gear 62 fixed to shaft 30. roll 32.

A spring 66 interposed between the'base 2 and outer end 68 of lever 50 urges the said end downwardly whereby the feed rolls 32 and 56 are yieldingly engaged for feeding a strip forwardly as.

they rotate in direction of the arrows.

The gears 58 and 62 areprovided with relatively deep or long teeth whereby the rolls 5% and 32 may be separated to the extent desired without said gears becoming disengaged.

A stud it depends from the base through an opening '1 2 in the lever 53 and a cam member it is oscillatable above a head it of said stud. A manually engageable member '58 extends from cam "54. An upwardly extending cam projection 86 is provided on the upper side of the cam for fitting in a groove of the lever 5a which is comple mental thereto, see Fig. 4.

Normally with the cam projection 84"; in the groove of the lever 56 the rolls 32 and 55 cooperate to grip and feed a strip of stock. When the cam is is oscillated to move the cam projection' out of the groove said cam elevates the righthand end of lever 59 to move the opposite end downwardly and separate rolls 32 anu An adjusting screw 80 in threaded engagement with the end 68 of lever 5% for adjusting the tension of spring 65 and stud it may be adjusted.

A brake band 8:3, see Fig. 1, is split as is usual and may have a lining 86 for frictionally engaging the brake drum t l. The brake band is held against rotation by a stud 88 or the like and an adjusting screw or bolt 98 is employed for drawing the brake band about the drum. The function of the brake means is to obviate back lash or lost motion of the parts.

The upper wall 8 of the housing is provided With-an elon gated slot as and a pointer carried by the slide extends therethrough and is adapted for registration with indicia 98 on the said upper wall to indicate the length of feed in each cycle of operation.

A transverse projection its on the right-hand end of the base and the part d thereof are provided with T slots Hi2 and EM. T studs may be inserted in the said slots and carry rollers, such as I06, for engaging the outer edge of a strip so as to guide it as it is fed forwardly.

The outer portion ill! of the projection Iilil may be slidable on rods E88 fixed in said projection whereby said portion we may be lengthened to accommodate strips of Wide width.

The stud 70 previously referred to is preferably slidable in the base and has a member ill! on its upper end which is slidable in a boss 4 l2. A roll H4 outside said boss is carried by part HE? and slidable therewith.

A cam H6 projecting from the slide has an outer part H8 underlying said roll [it and an upwardly and forwardly inclined cam surface I20.

The feed roll 56 is engageable with feed.

.the-up stroke, the spring urges the slide forwardly. In movements of the slide rearwardly and forwardly, the feed rolls are rotated in feeding direction.

As the slide reaches its rear position the memher i it brings about instantaneous separation of the feed rolls so that the strip being fed, is released.

'ihe pressure of the feed rolls may be relieved or'released by turning cam member M and the pressure applied by the lower roll may be varied by ad ustment of the tension of spring The brake means is important in that suhicient drag may be applied against rotation of shaft 35! thereby to obviate back lash or play and insure accuracy of feed.

It will be noted that the slide and spring are enclosed thereby protecting the same against impairment of their action by foreign matter and the like.

The invention may be embodied in other speciiic forms Without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall Within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for feeding successive lengths of strip material forwardly thereof comprising, an elongated support and an elongated housing secured thereto and cooperating therewith to provide a closed elongated guideway open at the forward end thereof, a. slide reciprocable forwardly and rearwardly in said guideway having a forward end for projecting through the open end of the guideway adapted for engagement by reciprocating means to move said slide rearwardly, means to resist rearward movements of said slide and to move the same forwardly and variably limit forward movements of said slide, a shaft rotatable in said housing having an outer free end, gears on said shaft and clutching means between said gears and shaft arranged and adaptedto alternately clutch said gears to said shaft as said gears are alternately rotated in a corresponding direction to rotate said shaft in feeding direction, means carried by said slide to engage and rotate said gears in movements thereof in opposite directions, said shaft having an upper drive gear fixed thereto and an upper roll fixed on the outer free end thereof, a lever provided with a rear free end and a forward end and being pivoted intermediate said ends to said support and having a driven gear and a lower roll simultaneously rotatable in the forward end thereof for engagement with the drive gear and upper roll of said shaft, said support and rolls and lever arranged whereby strip material may be inserted inwardly between and axially of said rolls, spring means between the rear free end of said lever and said support acting on said lever to urge said rolls into yielding engagement, manually operable cam means connecting said support and lever operable on said lever to overcome the action of said spring means, and engageable means operable in rearward position of the slide cooperating with said manually operable means to overcome said spring means.

2. Apparatus for feeding successive lengths of strip material forwardly thereof comprising, an elongated support and an elongated housing secured thereto and cooperating therewith to provide a closed elongated guideway open at the forward end thereof, a slide reciprocable forwardly and rearwardly in said guideway having a forward end for projecting through the open end of the guideway adapted for engagement by reciprocating means to move said slide rearwardly, means to resist rearward movements of said slide and to move the same forwardly and variably limit forward movements of said slide, a shaft rotatable in said housing having an outer free end, gears on said shaft and clutching means between said gears and shaft arranged and adapted to alternately clutch said gears to said shaft as said gears are alternately rotated in a corresponding direction to rotate said shaft in feeding direction, means carried by said slide to engage and rotate said gears in movements thereof in opposite directions, said shaft having an upper drive gear fixed thereto and an upper roll fixed on the outer free end thereof, a lever provided with a rear free end and a forward end and being pivoted intermediate its ends to said support and having a driven gear and a lower roll simultaneously rotatable in the forward end thereof for engagement with the drive gear and upper roll of said shaft, said support and rolls and lever arranged whereby strip material may be inserted inwardly between and axially relative to said rolls, spring means between the rear free end of said lever and said support acting on said lever to urge said rolls into yielding engagement, manually operable cam mean connecting said support and lever operable on said lever to overcome the action of said spring means, and engageable means operable in rearward position of the slide cooperating with said manually operable means to overcome said spring means, said cam means including a member extending from said support and a lever pivoted thereon having a projecting cam part receivable in a recess provided in said lever.

3. Apparatus for feeding successive lengths of strip material forwardly thereof comprising, an elongated support and an elongated housing secured thereto and cooperating therewith to provide a closed elongated, guideway open at the forward end thereof, a slide reciprocable forwardly and rearwardly in said guideway having a forward end for projecting through the open end of the guideway adapted for engagement by reciprocating means to move said slide rearwardly, means to resist rearward movements of said slide and to move the same forwardly and variably limit forward movements of said slide, a shaft rotatable in said housing having an outer free end, gears on said shaft and clutching means between said gears and shaft arranged and adapted to alternately clutch said gears to said shaft as said gears are alternately rotated in a corresponding direction to rotate said shaft in feeding direction, means carried by said slide to engage and rotate said gears in movements thereof in opposite directions, said shaft having an upper drive gear fixed thereto and an upper roll fixed on the free end thereof, a lever provided with a rear free end and a forward end and being pivoted intermediate said ends to said support and having a driven gear and a lower roll simultaneously rotatable in the forward end thereof for engagement with the drive gear and upper roll of said shaft, said support and rolls and lever arranged whereby strip material may be inserted inwardly between and axially of said rolls, spring means between the rear free end of said lever and said support acting on said lever to urge said rolls into yielding engagement, manually operable cam means connecting said support and lever operable on said lever to overcome the action of said spring means, and engageable means operable in rearward position of the slide cooperating with said manually operable means to overcome said spring means, said manually operable cam means including a member slidable up and down in said support for swinging said lever and a spring between said support and lever, and said engageable means including a cam on said slide for acting on a part,

on said member for moving said member upwardly.

HUBERT E. DICKERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 262,566 Briggs Aug. 15, 1882 1,244,708 Crowell Oct. 30, 1917 1,497,296 Jappe June 10, 1924 2,113,239 Petskeyes Apr. 5, 1938 2,262,915 Bobst Nov. 18, 1941 2,330,119 Giflen Sept. 21, 1943 2,348,456 Dickerman May 9, 1944 2,425,382 Lubbert Aug. 12, 1947 2,451,833 Koch Oct. 19, 1948 2,460,340 Dickerman Feb. 1, 1949 2,539,807 Brandes Jan. 30, 1951 

